R2B2 wants to push your phone's buttons, will guess your PIN in hours

Quick, hide your smartphone! There's a new robot on the scene that will try and guess your phone's PIN in a matter of hours.

The aptly named Robotic Reconfigurable Button Basher (or "R2B2" for short) is a small, open-source robot that will crack lock screen PINs in 20 hours or less. Essentially, it will work out the four-digit code by just bashing buttons in quick succession until it gets in.

R2B2 isn't just a mischief-maker, though: Researchers plan on using it to help with improve PIN-based security systems. Of course, you can fight R2B2 if you have some kind of lockout defense system on your phone. For instance, the robot won't have much luck with an iPhone, because after three failed attempts at guessing the PIN, you need Apple's help to get back in.

The robot will be on display at this year's Black Hat security conference, which starts this weekend.